I was listening to a podcast last week - Mel Robbins interviewing Dr. Rahul Jandial - and he said something that made me stop in my tracks.
He was talking about focusing less on the outcome and more on opportunities.
Here’s the exact quote:
“I have felt lost when I have searched for an outcome rather than an opportunity. If you hitch your mental health or your self-worth or the story of your life to an outcome, it’s going to be frustrating. You know, either you’re not going to be aiming high enough or you’re just going to be constantly looking at it the wrong way.”
That really struck me!
Because when I think about it? I feel like I have always chased opportunities. That’s very much who I am. I see something interesting and I dive in. I learn it. I explore it. I move on when it’s done teaching me something.
But here’s the thing - I don’t think I’ve been INTENTIONAL about it.
I’ve been following opportunities, sure. But I’ve also been frustrated by outcomes. Wondering why things aren’t moving faster. Why I’m not “there” yet. Why I haven’t figured it all out.
What if I stopped doing that?
What if I focused purely on opportunities and let the outcomes take care of themselves?
I mentioned this simplified concept to a few people this week. Just that shift - opportunities, not outcomes. And wow. The conversations that came from that were interesting.
It’s so SIMPLE. But it changes everything.
When you’re focused on outcomes, you’re constantly measuring. Constantly checking if you’re “there” yet. Constantly disappointed when you’re not.
When you’re focused on opportunities, you’re just... present. Open. Curious. Learning. Growing. Moving forward without the pressure of a specific endpoint.
That feels like freedom.
That feels like how I want to live.
I’m still processing this, but I wanted to share it with you because maybe it’ll click for you too. Maybe you’re also hitching your self-worth to outcomes that aren’t coming fast enough. Maybe you’re also missing the opportunities right in front of you because you’re too busy looking at where you’re “supposed” to be.
Opportunities over outcomes.
I’m going to be thinking about this for a while.
-Lianne